App of the Week: BabNoor for special needs children

There are tens of thousands of apps available for special needs children, with sites such as Oneplaceforspecialneeds.com and A4cwsn.com providing extensively researched lists. But the lack of localised content and assistive technologies led to the creation of BabNoor – an Arabic app that helps differently abled children, including those with autism and Down’s syndrome.

Shadi Al Hassan, CEO of Dubai-based Flagship Projects, the app developer, says the response has been great so far from children, child development centres, parents, doctors and even the government.

“[Conditions for] developing apps and content for children in the UAE are probably the best in the region. You will find a healthy environment to do so, from the legal set-up to the access of talents and technology.”

New apps

The CEO adds that his company is working on new edutainment apps that leverage AR, VR, green screen and Li-Fi technology.

Hassan explains that a big challenge here is catering to many nationalities speaking different languages and coming from different cultures. “You somehow lose focus of whom you should target using which language and so forth.”

Maybe this is where pictures may be worth a thousand words — especially when combined with AR.